Tymoshenko trial delayed again by court

A Ukrainian court delayed hearings on an appeal by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko against her October 2011 sentencing to seven years in jail for her role in negotiating a gas supply contract with Russia in 2009 until June 26. Ukraine’s specialized supreme court on civil and criminal cases granted a request from prosecutors to delay the hearing because Tymoshenko was not present and was unable to attend the proceedings due to health issues. Earlier this month, a Kharkiv district court delayed a new trial against Tymoshenko on embezzlement until May 21 for the same reason.

Brad Wells: As with the Kharkiv hearing postponement, this looks not like an indicator of leniency, but rather the prosecutors treading carefully, especially with the eyes of the world on Tymoshenko ahead of Euro-2012 and her treatment at the crux of a potential political boycott from European politicians. As a result, we expect little progress on both cases in courts until after the football championships conclude in early July and believe the government is unlikely to change its stance on the cases against Tymoshenko, especially with a key parliamentary election coming in October.